Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I haven't shot enough with it to determine consistency, but I'm pleased so far. Flash is a bit large for the output, but it is still decent. I did some test shots and was getting f8 at 18 ft. This tells me that the GN is just about 144. The specs put it at just 58. (Maybe that was supposed to be meters and not feet). This is almost as good as I got from the Sunpak PZ42XC at full on manual.
Build is similar to the Sunpak flashes. Swivel and bounce feel no less solid and click into place just fine without shifting. The built in diffuser AND mini bounce card are nice although small. My sunpak PZ42XC doesn't have that. There is a PC sync and a power supply connection on the side which my sunpak doesn't have either. Then there is the optical slave which works well with two levels of sensitivity and of course my sunpak lacks that as well.
With all of that said, this flash isn't for just anybody. This is just a plain dumb manual flash without TTL or even a thyristor. THERE IS NO AUTO FUNCTION. If your intent is to use this as a camera mounted flash for candids, forget it unless you know how to manually setup for every shot by adjusting your aperture as needed. It is not intended for that purpose.
The flash came with a base that has a threaded hole in the bottom so it can be mounted to a stand. It would do a terrific job providing fill or backlight capability. It swivels 180 degrees and straight up so bouncing into an umbrella or through a diffuser while the slave sensor faces forward for a stationary photo shoot are ideal uses of this flash. So is placing it behind a subject for a backlight. My Lumiquest gel holder fits very tight due to the large flash head, but it fits.
The controls and lights on the back seem a bit confusing and the manual isn't a lot of help since the translation from Chinese to English is about the same quality as you get from Google translate..... I was able to figure it out but it took some time experimenting with the unit.
Recharge is quick - even at full power. I was very impressed. Of course it has less output than the Sunpak and uses the same number of batteries but still, I was pleased.
One other note. When i first tried to turn it on it wouldn't do anything and I was immediately afraid it was DOA. I found that to turn it on, you must hold the on-off button for a couple seconds. When you press it down, the lights on the bar progress from left to right and if you don't hold it down till the lights get to the far right, it just shuts off. Awkward, but easy to deal with if you are aware of it.
Altogether, I'm quite pleased with what I have assuming it lasts a a while. The build seems solid so I'll just have to wait and see. I'm confident enough in the product that I'm going to buy a second one so I can have one for fill and the other for a backlight for impromptu studio shots.
If you need a slave flash with some power and manual controls I really think this is the best thing out there. Almost everything else in this price range is a single power or auto-flash without the ability to make manual output adjustments. You can get this output with no slave, the slave with no manual,or you can spend twice as much. But if you need a speedlight with auto functions for camera mounted shots, get something with auto functions.
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YN-560 Speedlight Flash for Canon and Nikon*Guide number:58 at ISO100, 105MM. *Super speed of charging recycle:It only takes 3 seconds in charging after full power output. Even without new batteries, you can get the super charging speed that it only needs 4-5 seconds, you can completely get rid of the nightmare of anxious waiting for charging,. In addition, you can use the external power pack to accelerate the charging speed once more. *Supporting high speed continuous shooting:Under the ouput level of 1/8 or below, YN-560 can support the 8FPS high speed continuous shooting. *The Improved power saving mode:In the power saving mode, the flash keep sidle for 3 minutes and then it will setp into the dormancy state in order to save power. and it will automatically shutdown aftger keeping idle for 15 minutes. If you disabled the power saving mode, the power saving indicator will be on, the flash won't step into the dormancy state aftger being stopped. It will be automatically shut down after 30 minutes. *The more fine output control: The adjustment range of YN-560 output level is 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, 1/128, there are 8 levels of putput and each level has 8 ine tuning stalls. *The automatic setting saving:It can automatically save your current setting. *Overheating protection*Maually set the zooming position:The coverd focal length of the flash will switch in circel of 14 / 28 / 35 / 50 / 70 / 80 / 105mm by pressing the button. Advanced Application: 1. Fine tuning the out put power2. Multi-flash Lighting Application3. Buttons are effective immediately4. The use of external charging box5. High-speed continuous shooting6. Rear-curtain Sync7. Reflection Flash8. Using the built-in Bounce Card9. Using the built-in Wide-angle DiffuseThis item is 100% Brand New. Never used. It comes with 3 Months Warranty by Seller.
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